Few Food blog events are really very nice, where all you have to do is sit on a couch and watch your favourite show. Don’t worry, you dont have to break your head to think of a dish starting with a particular letter or to cook something lovely and elegant for a nice fruit and vegetable event or to cook something with a cooking tip involved. All you have to do is present the lovely event hosted by Trupti, someone very dear to me, in a way to your hubby as if its a WIFE’s DAY.

R is a great cook and take his own time to bring the best on the table. The only problem is that he cooks occassionally . He spent 2 hours to make the delicious brinjal curry , taking a camera shot at each step while I relaxed watching my favourite shows on TV. Trupti please make it a weekly…hmm no no daily event

Ingredients :

5-6 Young tender brinjals
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbs olive oil

For Stuffing :

2 tbs urad dal
2 tbs channa dal
( soaked in water for atleast 10 mins )
2 garlic cloves
1 tbp grated ginger
3-4 dry red chillies
2-3 cloves
3/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup peanuts
5-6 cashews nuts
Salt to taste
Cilantro to garnish

Heat oil in a wok and fry all the stuffing ingredients along with turmeric powder on low flame for 3-4 minutes. Remove from flame and let cool for few minutes, grind it to a thick smooth paste adding little water if required.

Wash the brinjals neatly to remove all the wax. Remove the stem head and from the opposite end, slit the brinjal in a (+) sign keeping the ends intact. Divide the sesame peanut paste into two portions and use one portion to neatly stuff all the brinjal pieces.

In the same wok, pour the rest of the paste and salt and add 1/2 cup water and bring to a boil, carefully place the brinjal pieces and cover with a lid. Cook for 10-15 minutes stirring occassionally and very carefully so that the stuffed brinjal don’t break. Once the brinjal is cooked and the gravy starts to thicken , remove from flame and garnish with cilantro leaves.

Serve hot and enjoy the delicious Gutti Vankaya Koora.

This is also my entry for LakshmiK RCI event hosted by Latha of Masala Magic

Okra, a common summer vegetable in India is among one of my favourite vegetable. Well, this vegetable is oftenly avoided in kitchen for its slimy sticky texture, but if handled and cooked properly, it can taste amazing. I am sharing with you few tips I have learnt from my mom about selecting an okra to cutting and cooking it and ofcourse its use in craft

Buying

Choose small and young Okra pods, which are tender and have a fresh, clean nice green appearance. Fresher the cap should be lighter in colour, as darker caps means the okra is old.

If using a frozen okra, make sure to remove as much moisture as you can by pat drying it with a tissue paper.

Cutting & Preparation

Wash the okra and wipe each pod neatly with a kitchen towel removing as much wetness and fuzinees as you can. Using a dry cutting board and knife, cut off the cap and end of the okar and slice it into round shapes or lengthwise. The slippery liquid inside the okra in mainly in the white little capsule, so be sure to cut okra in a way without puncturing the capsules. While chopping the okra pods, you might see some unwanted fuzz accumulating on the knife, clean it with a kitchen towel as often as possible.

Cooking

While cooking adding a few drops of lemon juice or a tsp of yogurt makes the okra crisper.
Adding salt in almost the end of cooking okra, prevents them from becoming soggy.

Okra Craft

As a child I used to love making cards with flower like patterns by cutting one okra pod from the cap and then dipping it into color and imprinting them on paper carefully
I believe, a very simple and delicious way to cook Okra is to stir fry it. This is a recipe my mother loves to cook and enjoys a lot. Its also my contribution for the Monthly Cooking Tipology Event for May.

Ingredients

10-12 fresh tender Okra pods, nicely chopped
1 tbs Oil
1 Onion sliced lengthwise
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tbs Tava Fry masala
1 tbs lemon juice
Salt to taste

Heat oil in a pan, fry mustard and cumin seeds until they start to splutter, add Onions and Okra slices and saute for a minute. Add tava fry masala ,salt and lemon juice,mix well making sure not to overmix so that no slimeness appear. Saute on low heat for 15-20 minutes till the pods are nicely cooked. Serve hot

With the birth of a child, a Mother is born , singing a never-ending song of love, comfort and happiness in her child’s heart, for the child may forget the words but would never forget the tune. 

To my Dear Mother and Mother In Law who means a World to me, and to All the mothers who visit my blog, I wish 

 I am also sending this picture to ‘R for Rose’ Flower Fest

More than words can say, More than the beauftiful years spent together can prove, Saying “I do” was the best thing I ever did. Yes, it is true , the calendar makes it clear. It’s a day of Celebration. Today R and I are celebrating two years of marvelous journey taken together, cherishing every moment Lived, filled with Love, Happiness , Respect and Trust. With dreams of love that would grow even more beautiful as life goes by.

R loves Mango. So, here is one simple full of flavour Mango Cheesecake for you Dear.

Hope my dear blog friends would also enjoy this simple elegant mango cheesecake.

Ingredients :

2 cup full fat milk
3 tbs mango puree
3 tbs sugar
1 tbs condensed milk
1 small egg
1 tsp yogurt
1 tsp honey
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp lemon juice
Mango Slices to Garnish

For the BlueBerry Sauce :
7-8 blueberries
2 tbs lemon juice 
3 tbs sugar

Bring the milk to boiling point and reduce the flame to low heat. Add vinegar to the hot milk and in few minutes the milk would start to curdle. In a clean cheese cloth, pour the curdled milk (cheese , paneer ) and tie it into a knot. Place the paneer pouch in a  colander with a bowl underneath for 15-20 minutes.  Spoon out the thick paneer in a mixing bowl and mix sugar , mango puree, yogurt, honey, condensed milk , vanilla essence and lemon juice and beat till paneer turns out into a smooth consistency.

In a separate bowl beat the egg till little fluffy and fold it into the paneer paste made above, mix well. Make sure not to overbeat else the cake would not turn out good.

Preheat the oven to 325 °C. In a pan ,heat 2 tsp unsalted butter on medium flame and add crushed biscuits. Roast for 2-3 minutes and grind to a thick paste. Spread a ½ ” even layer of the biscuit mixture in the baking tray and freeze for 10-15 minutes.  

Remove the baking tray from the freezer and pour in the mango paneer paste in it. Place it in the oven. Place another baking tray filled with water just beneath the cheesecake baking tray. This is required to make a real moist cheesecake.

Bake for 40-50 minutes and remove it from the oven before it begins to crack. The outer edges of the cheesecake would appear as done but the inner part would be little woobly. Don’t worry take out the pan and let it cool for 15-20 minutes and the inner of cheesecake would firm up after chilling.

Place it in the referigerator and let cool for 50-60 minutes.

To make the blueberry sauce :

In a pan add 7-8 blueberries with 3 tbs of sugar and 2 tbs lemon juice and let simmer for 5-10 minutes or until the fruit starts to break down. drain the sauce using a sieve and spread it quickly over the cheesecake. This should be done just before serving the cheesecake else sometimes the sauce becomes little hard to spread.

Decorate with fresh mango slices and serve. YUMMY !!!

This is also my entry for A Fruit A Month Event.

May is a day to celebrate the tips and tricks we have learnt from our mother and grandmother’s. So, please join me in Monthly Cooking Tipology Event by sharing one such cooking tip by 15th May.

Food Blogger’s from All around the World, gathered to contribute for a good cause when Barbara from WinosandFoodies announced the event A Taste of Yellow  to spread awareness about cancer. She ia a remarkable person who approaches life with great energy and strength despite fighting with cancer.I decided to make a very simple dish with yellow colour which I love a lot.

This is also my entry for lovely Nupur’s Food event A-Z of Vegetables

1 cup Semolina
¾ cup Sugar
4 cup milk
6-7 Cashew nuts
1 tbs raisins
1 tbs ghee
2-3 strands of saffron

Heat ghee in a heavy bottom pan, bring the gas mark to low. Roast the cashews and raisins in ghee and remove them from the pan. In the same hot ghee, roast the semolina until lightly browned. Be careful not to burn it else the whole dish would not taste good. Remove the semolina from the pan and keep aside.

In the same pan, boil milk until warm. With one hand pour the semolina in milk and using other hand  stir it all the time so that no lumps are formed. Mix properly and add the saffron stands and sugar, mix again.

Let it cook for 5-7 minutes and remove from the flame. Garnish with roasted cashews and raisins.

Serve warm.

Majority of the Indian appetizers consists of spicy tantalizing fritters, deep fried in oil and served with a hot cup of Chai.  As the monsoons approach, the urge to have a quick spicy hot appetizer strucks any Indian head. In no time a wok is placed and oil is heated, and the seasoning mix of ginger, garlic and chillies often referred to as “The Trio” is made to have the hint of spicy flavour in the appetizer. One such very famous comforting food is Chicken 65. Being a vegeterian , I tried my hands on Gobhi 65 with my husband describing the exact flavour and seasoning for the so-called appetizers prefixed with 65

1/2 pound Cauliflower

For Marinating :
2 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
1 tbs Garam Masala powder
1 tbs Ginger Garlic paste
2 tbs yogurt
3 tsp red chilli powder
Juice of 1 lemon
Orange food color or very small piece of beetroot
Salt to taste
Oil for deep Frying

For Garnishing :
Finely Chopped Cilantro leaves
Thinely sliced Onion rings

Cut the cauliflower into pieces such that all the florets are intact and properly separated. In a pan boil 3 cup of water and pour the cauliflower florets. Cook for 2-3 minutes and drain the water. Using a paper towel, pat the cauliflower dry and keep aside.

In a separate bowl, mix all the ingredients required for marinating to make a thick paste. Add cauliflower florets to it and mix well to coat all the sides properly. Let it marinate for 30 minutes.

Heat oil in a wok and carefully deep fry the marinated pieces until brown from all sides. Drain excess oil on a paper towel and garnish with cilantro leaves and onions.

This is also my entry for Weekend Herb Blogging showcasing the Ginger and Garlic paste , a staple in Indian cooking.

Along with spring comes the oppurtunity to enjoy refreshing, bright tender vegetables in delicious soups and salads. Beetroot certainly divides the world here -either you hate it or love it. If you love it, then this salad is for you. Beetroot salad with Goat cheese has been on my mind since I tried it at WolfGang Puck’s restaurant in LA. The sweety and earthy flavour of fresh beetroot is unbeatable and takes this salad to an outstanding level.

For Salad :
1 medium sized beetroot
4-5 leaves of Belgium Endives

For Dressing :
1 tbs white vinegar
2 tbs lemon juice
1/2 tsp honey
Salt to taste

For Garnishing :
2 tbs crumbled Goat Cheese
3-4 finely chopped mint leaves
2 tbs walnuts
Crushed black pepper to garnish

Preheat the oven to 250 F. Wash, peel and cut the beetroot into small pieces and wrap it into an aluminium foil. Place the foil into the oven and let the beetroot bake for 10-15 minutes or until slightly tender.

In a bowl mix vinegar, lemon juice and honey. Adjust the taste by adding salt and keep aside. On a low flame, add 1/8 tsp oil and roast the walnuts. In the meantime cut the endives into thin strips.

Remove the baked beetroot and place it on the serving plate along with endive leaves. Mix the salad dressings and garnish with walnuts, goat cheese and mint leaves. Sprinkle some black pepper and delicious salad is ready to be served.

This is also my entry for  Meeta’s Monthly Mingle.

May is a day to celebrate the tips and tricks we have learnt from our mother and grandmother’s. So, please join me in Monthly Cooking Tipology Event by sharing one such cooking tip by 15th May.

Let’s Welcome the month of Mother’s Day by sharing a Cooking tip on Monthly Cooking Tipology May event which reminds you of your mom and saying a big Thank you to her for all her wisdom.

So, please join me in showing our love and gratitude to the most beautiful women on this earth  “Mother”.

Last day for receiving the event entries are 15th May.

As King Akhbar was not complete without Birbal’s wisdom to run his court, so do we are not complete in our cooking without learning the Do’s and Don’ts from our elders and fellow blogger. This event has been possible because of wonderful cooking tips and co-operation from all my dear blog friends. Without  your advice this blogspace would have been like Akhbar’s courtroom with no Birbal . On the same note I thank all my dear fellow blogger who took time to share the wonderful cooking tips and recipes. And here is what I learned from all of you .

COOKING TIPS
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 Sharmi from Neivedyam shares a recipe very dear to her heart in memory of her Grandmother. To cook a mouth watering Brussel Sprout curry to a perfect perfection rememmber what Sharmi tells us about brussel sprouts. Brussel sprouts get cooked very fast, so don’t cut them into halves , make a square cut on top and boil in water for just 3-4 minutes.

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  Swapna from Tastes from My Kitchen can tantalize your tongue by adding flavours to a simple looking white rice. Instead of those white rice, try your hands on pickled rice by adding tomato and red chillie pickle paste with corn to make a simple yet tasty healthy delicious pickled rice.   

Pumpkin is known for its amazing nutritional value. If you are planning to cook white pumpking koora from Swapna’s website dont forget to add 1 tsp of sugar for an enhanced taste.

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 Shivapriya from My CookBook brings a delicious recipe to satisfy your sweet tooth, and tells you how to make a perfect moist Badam Halva. Use milk instead of water while grinding almonds for a smoother consistency. And dont cook the Halva for long as it tends to dry out. 

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 Dal is a staple food in every Indian Kitchen. Asha from Aroma Hope         shares her wisdom and experience of cooking with wonderful tips for Dal.   Follow her tips and thank her, for you would be serving aromatic spicy       delicious hot dal every day on dinner table. Some of her tips for cooking dal are  - 

• Adding one or two green chillies and few fresh curry leaves when pressure cooking dal gives it a nice flavor and irresistible aroma.
• Never add salt or any tangy veggies like mangoes or Radish or sour greens with dal to cook.I have always found the dal undercooked or not soft enough to mash later.Cook them separately and then mix together.
• Adding fresh grated or ground ginger is okay to some dals while it’s cooking but not fresh garlic! Always saute garlic in oil/butter/Tadka first before adding.Asha personally don’t like the flavor of raw garlic in the dal, but tastes great when sauteed first!
• Tuar dal is tougher to cook in the microwave than Masoor(red lentils) or Moong dal.
• Once you add the spice powder like Rasam pd etc,do not boil the dal for a long time,it loses it’s flavor.Add 1 tsp ghee to the dal after you take it off of the heat for the best flavor. 

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Sandeepa from Bong CookBook always have a detailed information/tips with a wonderful writeup for even the simplest of all the cooking ingredients. She shares with us a tasty Papaya Tamarind Chutney advising us on the best way to cut a green payaya. While cutting a papaya make sure to discard the seeds and hard skin next to it to avoid any bitter taste. 

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  If you love Gujarati cuisine and searching for a delicious Indian snack recipe dont go any further, head to Trupti’s blog The Spice Who Loved me and make these sinfully mouth watering Kachoris. She tells us an important tip about frying Kachori. Frying them on too high heat will make them brown very quickly and will turn them soggy later on.